They have said a while back that something like a merit point system isn't in their plans for now. They want to keep the game accessible to new players, and they said that if they let your character gain power beyond the level cap and gear, then it would seem like a daunting challenge for a new player to ever get up to the level of older players. So basically they are trying not to make the current players happy, but the people that aren't even playing yet. I would like to see this change, but I guess we can only wait and hope.